Clinical relevance of fixed ratio vs lower limit of normal of FEV1/FVC in COPD: patient-reported outcomes from the CanCOLD cohort.

ABSTRACT:

Purpose

The way in which spirometry is interpreted can lead to misdiagnosis of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) resulting in inappropriate treatment. We compared the clinical relevance of 2 criteria for defining a low ratio of forced expiratory volume in 1 second to forced vital capacity (FEV1/FVC): the fixed ratio and the lower limit of normal.

Methods

We analyzed data from the cross-sectional phase of the population-based Canadian Cohort of Obstructive Lung Disease (CanCOLD) study. We determined associations of the spirometric criteria for airflow limitation with patient-reported adverse outcomes, including respiratory symptoms, disability, health status, exacerbations, and cardiovascular disease. Sensitivity analyses were used to explore the impact of age and

SUBMITTER: van Dijk W 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4291264 | biostudies-literature | 2015 Jan-Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature